On-Site Analysis of Contaminated Soils

The Tridion-9 portable GC-MS is able to conduct speciated VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) analysis of contaminated soil on-site and very quickly. This offers enormous advantages to anyone involved with the investigation or management of contaminated sites.

Delays between sampling and the availability of results can incur substantial problems. For example, contaminated land remediation contractors require quick results in order to determine whether treatment is required, and to decide which remediation method is appropriate and what level of treatment is necessary. Similarly, pollution investigation teams need fast access to analytical data in order to determine the level of risk.

Accredited laboratories are able to produce highly accurate analytical data, so the greatest problems often arise from sampling, storage, transport and chain of custody documentation issues. If samples are not supplied in the correct manner, laboratories will treat them as deviating (or non-conforming) which means that the results are unlikely to be acceptable for compliance monitoring reporting purposes.

VOC speciation is often required, especially for those compounds which are most harmful. In addition, the results of screening procedures may be used to guide sample collection activities and can help identify which sampling and/or extraction methods are most effective.

The ability of the Tridion-9 to analyse multiple VOCs in soil was demonstrated by preparing a known sample spiked with 42 VOCs. This analysis was achieved without the need for laboratory equipment or solvents, and the results were obtained in less than 2 minutes.

The VOCs were extracted and concentrated from the soil using water, a salting-out technique, and a Custodion solid phase microextraction (SPME) syringe. In some cases, analytes co-eluted (e.g., 1,3-Dichloro-1-propene (E), Toluene, and 1,1,2-Trichloroethane compounds 15-17) but were positively identified by the target compound library using the automated on-board deconvolution algorithm.

This SPME/GC-MS sample analysis and screening method allows the fast accurate measurement of individual VOCs and their relative concentrations.